​Anna, Jim and I were at the Maximum Security Unit last Monday for our monthly meditation group. In the past year, this group has taken on a new flavor. It is completely inmate run. One participant each month shares his spiritual practice with the group and then opens the floor for discussion. The topic this night was about unity. Jesus (pronounced with a hard J), our instructor, passed a shoe string around the circle and asked everyone to tie a knot to represent a struggle they were having in their lives. We were running an hour late due to miscommunication at the unit, but no one in the group seemed to mind. Or if they did, they just tied it up with all the other knots. When the shoe string was completely knotted up, Jesus led us in a meditation about interconnectedness and no self. The post-meditation discussion revealed incredible stories from childhood to life in the barracks. And then, some of our guys shared their celebratory news -- the recent Supreme Court decision to grant juveniles sentenced to life in prison a retrial meant renewed hope for several in our prison family. They announced with beaming faces that they may not be at the unit for much longer. As the guys celebrated the possibility of being released, Jesus reflected that he is dedicated to returning to prison to help others find freedom. It struck me, as I'm sure it strikes you, that Jesus spontaneously spoke a bodhisattva vow. In essence, this is a vow to use your own accumulation of wisdom, insight and compassion to help others attain freedom from suffering. Lack of freedom is ubiquitous in prison. It is the inherent nature of this system of punishment. Despite this, Jesus and others slashed through this story of confinement by cultivating internal freedom from suffering. He skillfully and cunningly interrupted a system meant to break down every basic human right, and declared his freedom behind bars. He further disrupted his shackles by committing to use his insight to benefit others. This moment was pregnant with authentic, sincere compassion. And then it passed, as all moments do. The group continued to share stories, to laugh and tear up (no full-out crying for our tough guys) and eventually we untied our knotted shoe string. As you sit down with our 211th issue of the Dharma Friends, I hope you find yourself closer to that deep sense of freedom that Jesus spoke to all of us about the other night.